


To Be More

by southwarden



Category: Dragon Age - All Media Types, Dragon Age: Inquisition
Genre: Angst, Biting, Dragon Fight, Expansion of Canon Scenes, F/F, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Idiots to Idiots Who Are Also In Love, Injury, Mutual Pining, Size Difference, Vaginal Fingering
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-20
Updated: 2020-06-19
Packaged: 2021-03-04 01:14:56
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 2
Words: 6,724
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24815167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/southwarden/pseuds/southwarden
Summary: “Sera,” she said, and her voice came out more husky than authoritative. “Are you inviting yourself to the Inquisitor’s bedchamber?”Sera’s eyes sparkled at the teasing.“No.” She grinned. “I’m racing her there.”-Scenes fleshing out the start of Sera and Tevi's romance.
Relationships: Female Adaar/Sera, Female Inquisitor/Sera
Comments: 4
Kudos: 67





	1. Sera

**Author's Note:**

> A very meandering and self-indulgent little fic based around the beginning of Sera's romance arc. Sexual content is only in Chapter 2.

Sera never understood Bull’s...thing, for fighting dragons.

Too many claws, too many horns, too many teeth, just  _ too many _ of everything, too much to keep track of when she already had arrows and footing and cover and  _ Tevi _ and not falling on her arse while avoiding all the pointy bits attached to the creature in front of them.

She threw herself to the left to avoid a burst of flame, landing on her arm with a wince. Bow left her hand at the impact, clattering to the ground behind her.  _ Shite _ .

The dragon galloped forward--Sera was pretty sure it couldn’t even see her, but it was about to mash her to paste on the ground anyways. She scrambled backwards as a foot the size of a handcart came crashing down where she had just been. Its talons left gouges in the stone. Sera reeled to her feet, heart in her throat.

Her bow lay on the ground not too far away, crushed to splinters by the dragon’s weight.

_ Shite! _

No time to mourn the weapon. Dragon was circling again, facing back towards Sera, and a jar of bees would do fuck all against that wall of scales and fangs. She gripped it anyways, eyes darting around for cover. Nothing close by, but maybe--

The dragon hadn’t had a chance to charge again when there was a shout from its other end, and Sera looked up just in time to see Tevi--how had she climbed up there anyways?--leap from the top of a boulder and bring her sword down in a singing arc to chop through the back of the dragon’s leg.

It let out a sound that shook the air. There was blood, lots of it, streaming from the dragon’s leg in great red ribbons. It collapsed backwards, still roaring, and Sera lost sight of Tevi in the storm of dust and blood and thrashing scales.

She saw the mighty swing of a tail, though. And heard it. A shriek of metal, a gruesome crack of bone, Bull yelling her name.

_ Tevi _ .

Things got foggy after that. Somebody was screaming, maybe her, judging by how sore her throat was later on. She threw anything she could get her hands on, the jars at her belt, rocks, rubble, anything. Anything to bring it down, make it hurt for hurting her. Sera remembered Vivienne’s storm of spells. Bull charging into the fray with more yelling than before, teeth and horns flashing in the sunlight, sword painting lines of blood across the stone and sand. The dark blur of Tevi’s still body sprawled out on the ground like some great sack of potatoes.

And then it was over, the dragon sinking to the ground with rattling breaths like just anything else with enough arrows stuck in it. Sera barely heard Bull’s bellow of victory. She was already running.

Vivienne was by Tevi’s side by the time Sera got there.

Up close, she looked...bad. Was that her blood, or the dragon’s? Her eyes were closed, her breath sounded wet and gaspy and there was a great jagged dent across her breastplate.

“Tevi?” She said, and her voice felt wrong in her mouth. Too small.

She reached out and Vivienne slapped her hand away.

“ _ Don’t, _ ” she snarled, and Sera had never heard the Lady De Fer sound like this before, all tight and angry, and Sera recoiled like she’d been burnt.

“Help me get this armor off her,” Vivienne commanded, and for once Sera didn’t argue.

Her knuckles stung, her fingers were bloody, her hands shook as she undid the buckles. They pulled the breastplate away. Sera watched Vivienne tear open the coat underneath, the ragged shirt, thought stupidly that she’d always expected this to happen differently.

Sera’s mind had conjured up images of raw red meat and guts spilling from the Inquisitor’s open chest like some sort of bloody butcher’s shop, and she shook her head to get it out. No, Tevi was all there. Whole and breathing.

Not that it was pretty. There was a long, dark bruise forming across her midsection, with a shallow slice running the length of it.

Vivienne placed her hands next to the injury and closed her eyes.

“Broken ribs,” she muttered. “Concussion. Foolish girl.”

A gentle blue glow surrounded her hands, and normally Sera would be edging away from all that magic shite but all she could do was stare into Tevi’s slack, ashen face.  _ Foolish girl _ .

She did look like a girl right then, young and broken, not towering over everyone for once, her shaggy curls fanned softly around her head.

Sera’s skin still prickled at the sight of those tendrils of light creeping across Tevi’s skin. Her wound knitting itself back together, leaving a clean stripe of gray skin under the red crust of blood. Vivienne moved one hand to Tevi’s forehead. Her brow furrowed with effort.

Tevi let out a sort of gaspy noise all of a sudden and her eyes flew open and it was like the sun rising after the attack on Haven, all warmth and relief, and Sera nearly cried. She wouldn’t have cried because she  _ never _ cried, but if she did she would have done it at that moment. Dazed amber eyes wandered around before settling on Sera. Tevi’s lips twitched into a smile.

“Did we win?” Her voice was less than a whisper. Sera’s throat closed up again.

Vivienne let out a sharp breath. Her lips pursed.

“You nearly died. Fortunately yes, we managed to avoid being eaten.” She wiped her hands on a clean patch of Tevi’s ruined coat. “You’re welcome, by the way.”

Tevi blinked slowly.

“Thank you,” she said. “Glad you were here.”

Words seemed to be a lot of effort for her. Not a surprise, after all that.

Vivienne just sniffed like usual and rose to her feet, dusting her robes off.

“Yes, well...you can show me your gratitude by getting us back to civilization. All this empty sand is wearying.”

Bull cleared his throat from somewhere behind Sera and she nearly jumped out of her skin. How long had he been standing there?

“C’mon Boss.” His voice was gruff. Not his usual gruff, though, something light and careless. Anything but careless now. “Lemme give you a hand.”

Tevi didn’t even protest. Must’ve really been feeling bad, then. Normally she shrugged it off, injuries or any sort of help. She was the one carrying, helping people, not getting hurt. She couldn’t be hurt. Shouldn’t be.

Sera watched as Bull knelt and wrapped an arm around Tevi’s middle, helping her to her feet. She walked like a drunk, winced at each uneven step.

Sera tore her eyes away.

After a moment, she dropped back to walk nearer Lady De Fer.

“What?” Vivienne’s voice was stiletto-sharp.

“Thanks,” Sera said. It wasn’t enough, not really, but all her words had gone out the window and left her feeling shaky and boneless. “You saved her, yeah? So...thank you.”

“I wouldn’t have had to do so if you had been more careful.” Vivienne looked away. “She was trying to protect  _ you _ .”

With that, Vivienne quickened her stride, and Sera stumbled over her own feet for a moment. Her stomach clenched.

_ She was trying to protect you _ .

-

The journey back to Skyhold passed in a haze.

Sera ate and drank without caring much what she put in her mouth. She walked alongside the soldiers, staying out of Tevi’s way when she could. Didn’t feel like seeing her. No, that wasn’t true. Didn’t want those soft eyes on her right now. Didn’t want to be forgiven yet, not when Tevi was still hurting. Still not quite true, but closer this time.

At least the Inquisitor seemed stronger every day with all the camp healers fussing at her, but the dark shadows under her eyes and the stiff way she walked made it clear she wasn’t quite back to fighting form.

Sera missed her with a fierceness that was really frigging stupid, because Tevi was alive. She was fine and she was alive and she was here and  _ she was trying to protect you, this happened to her because of you _ .

She thought about Lady De Fer and the bite in her voice. She thought about the new crack in one of Tevi’s horns. She stayed away.

Tevi looked for her because of course she did, they shared a tent and she always cared so bloody much about everything. Everyone. She cared about Sera, a lot. Sera didn’t want to think too much about that right now.

She’d gotten into a new habit, just waited until Tevi fell asleep to go back to the tent and left in the morning before she got up. There was guilt stinging her no matter which way she turned, and this was easier than looking at Tevi and talking to her and seeing her bloody and still and dying every time she closed her eyes. She needed to gather together some words before Tevi pinned her with those soft gooey eyes of her and made her lose everything she’d been thinking.

It worked alright until one night a day or so out from Skyhold. She had been so sure Tevi was asleep, until she crawled onto her bedroll and then froze at the sound of the low, sleep-roughened voice beside her.

“Sera?”

Sera froze. When she turned, she saw those honey-brown eyes looking back at her. Tevi smiled in the dim light, but there was a sad turn to her mouth.

“Sorry. Guess you’re still avoiding me?”

Sera’s mouth went dry.

“Not avoiding.” Lie. “Just...thinking.” Truth. Not that it’d helped much.

“About what?”

_ You, dying. Gone. Me, alone. _

“Did I do something to upset you?” Tevi asked, after Sera was quiet for probably too long.

Sera shook her head.

“No.” She hesitated. “Yes. I don’t know.”

Tevi was all softness and gentleness, looking up at Sera in the dark like she was the only thing that mattered, and it was more than she could wrap her head around.

“What did I do?” She asked.

“You nearly  _ died _ ,” Sera said too loudly, and her voice cracked when she tried to make it quieter and shit,  _ shit _ , none of this was going right. “With that dragon. Throwing yourself around for nothing, that’s not your frigging job, is it? It should be us, not you. If you died…”

“I know, I know.” Tevi rolled onto her back, staring up at the tent roof. “I’ve already gotten the lecture from Vivienne. And Cassandra. And even Josie, I have no idea how she found out so quickly but I got a very stern letter from her this morning.” Sera saw a muscle in her jaw jump as she clenched it. “I know we need the anchor.”

Sera was quiet.  _ No _ .  _ Don’t need the anchor. Don’t give a single shit about the anchor. _

“But you were in trouble, and--” Tevi sucked in a sharp breath. “I would do the same for any of you. You know that, right?”

Sera did know that. But she also was pretty sure that Tevi looked at her differently than she looked at any of the others (except maybe Harding every once in a while, though Sera could hardly blame her for that). The way her ears pricked up and she broke into a smile when Sera came into the room--it couldn’t all be her imagination, right? Maybe Tevi got a little stupid when it came to Sera, the same way Sera got stupid when it came to her?

But then, she’d been wrong before.

She sighed, laid back on her own bedroll. The tent was small enough that she could feel the heat of Tevi’s skin lying like this, side by side.

“I know that. But you  _ shouldn’t _ . And not because of that bloody hand of yours either,” she said. “ _ You _ can’t die. You can’t leave, not now. Alright? Especially not for me. Keep fighting, sure, but not...that.” She gripped her blanket tighter at the thought. “You have to be here.  _ Stay _ .”

Tevi looked over and Sera couldn’t bear to meet her gaze. After a moment, a big hand cupped her chin, tilting her face towards Tevi. She tried not to notice how warm it was, the calluses on Tevi’s fingers, the gentleness of her touch.

“You have to be here too.” Tevi’s breath hitched. “I can’t…do this, not without you.”

Sera couldn’t turn away from it. The honey words, the honey eyes.

“Shut up,” she managed to gasp. “Don’t lie, you can’t just...just  _ say _ things like that.”

“I’m not lying.”

Sera closed her eyes. What was she supposed to say to that?

She couldn’t think of anything. So instead, she reached up and grasped that big mitt of a hand and pulled it from her face to her hip, sliding closer until she was pressed against Tevi’s warmth. Tevi made a sort of squeak and cleared her throat.

“Sera--”

“Just shut up, okay?” Sera sighed. “No more talking tonight. Need to be...here.”

She couldn’t see much with her face pressed into Tevi’s shoulder, but she could tell from the quiet that she was probably doing that scrunchy thoughtful face she did when she was figuring out what Sera meant. That face always made her stomach warm. Nobody else had ever given her words a second thought.

Then Tevi’s arms circled her waist, pulling her closer.

Sera had hugged her before, quick one-armed things, plus that one time they had danced together. This was different, warm and tingly from head to toe. Tevi was a wall of muscles and height and horns but here she was now, soft under Sera’s hands.

She lifted a hand to the back of Sera’s head and stroked her hair and Sera wanted to rub up against her like a cat. Not the right time, though, was it? Not out here in the middle of nowhere, Tevi still looking like she might topple over. Not good enough, not right.

Tevi’s fingers brushed back the hair from her forehead, and a moment later, she felt the soft press of lips against her temple.

Sera gripped Tevi’s shirt so tightly she thought it might rip under her hands.

Tevi didn’t do anything else though, didn’t try to kiss her again, just settled with her chin resting on top of Sera’s head, holding her like something precious, all careful and tender.

“Goodnight,” she said.

Sera lay awake long after Tevi started snoring softly, focused on the breath tousling her hair, on the heartbeat under her ear. She was alive. She was here.

-

In the hustle and bustle of the party arriving back at Skyhold, Sera lost track of Tevi somewhere. Most likely off with the advisors or tugged aside by some puffed-up noble who needed something stupid done.

It suited Sera just fine, right now. She needed to clear her head. Fresh air and something strong to drink.

Blackwall gave her a wave and a smile as she made her way past the barn, but she wasn’t in the mood for people. People were loud, and confusing, and they kissed you on the head like that was a normal frigging thing to do to somebody.

The bottle she’d stolen from Herald’s Rest was only half-full, but whatever it was made her throat burn. She settled down in the grass in one of her hidden places behind the barn and closed her eyes against the sun as she drank.

She wasn’t sure how long she was out there. A few hours, at least, long enough to go from warm and tipsy to a headache and itchy sweat, but it didn’t matter. Familiar footsteps approached and Sera sat up straight and shaded her eyes against the afternoon sunlight.

Tevi was there, and she beamed as she caught sight of Sera.

She did make a pretty picture, didn’t she? Her armor was gone, hair slightly damp, probably from the bath, and she wore a loose shirt and breeches that hugged her hips. Sera frowned. Her left horn, the one that’d been cracked in the fight with the dragon, it’d been shorn down a few inches and capped with metal. Her stomach gave a guilty clench. Had it hurt? Was this like cutting off a hand?

“I hoped I’d find you here,” Tevi said, because she couldn’t hear all the nonsense that went on in Sera’s head. “I’ve got something for you.”

Her cheeks darkened as she said it and it was all very charming. Sera wanted to scream. Gifts, now? What next, candles and poetry?

But it wasn’t poetry, or even chocolates, which maybe wouldn’t have been so bad, actually. Tevi held out a bow, and Sera may not have known much about much of anything, but even she could tell this was quite something. Smooth and polished, not like the unfinished wood of her old weapon. Tevi smiled as Sera took it from her hands, testing the draw, the feel of it.

“I, um. I had the bowyer use the wrap from your old bow.” Tevi rubbed the back of her neck and rushed on before Sera could say anything. “The old one was splinters, I mean...not really fixable. And I know this isn’t much, but you had that bow since I met you. I thought you might want to keep...y’know, part of it, at least.”

Sera stared down at the stained leather grip. Now that Tevi had pointed it out, she could see the bumps in the leather from her fingertips, old scratches and spots she vaguely remembered.

Her heart ached in her chest.

Frigging...stupid woman.

Sera didn’t give two shits about her bow. It was a bloody piece of wood, some old hunting weapon she’d scavenged or maybe stolen because there wasn’t a frigging  _ bowyer _ for people like her. It took arrows from her hand to the enemy’s head, and that was good enough for her. One bow was as same as the next, right?

But...Tevi had  _ thought _ about this. She’d gone back to get what was left of that old thing, thinking it would mean something to Sera. She’d...she’d made something, just for her.

Sera gripped the bow tighter.

“This...is nice, yeah?” She swallowed. “You’re nice. Thanks.”

Tevi got this stupid grin on her face, ears twitching upwards, and Sera couldn’t think all of a sudden. Nearly blinded by that bloody smile, all off-balance, and all she could do was stare and wish and  _ want _ .

She wanted things. Wanted Tevi to throw over all her Inquisitor shite and stay here, in the grass and the flowers, with her. Wanted pretty nobles to stop giggling and shooting hungry looks towards Tevi when she was practicing her sword-swinging in the courtyard. Wanted Tevi to give her another kiss like the one from last night. Wanted things she couldn’t put words to, tender delicate things that made her feel scalded to the bone for wanting them so badly.

This was all stupid, right? To want and want and do nothing?

She had to find the right words. She had to make this...not so much. Not so scary.

Find the words. Make it right.

She could handle that much.


	2. Tevi

She didn’t come to Sera’s room in the tavern much. It was her space, and Sera deserved to have that without somebody barging in there to bother her. Well, that, and it was small enough that Tevi was in near-constant fear of turning round and smashing something.

But Sera had asked her here, so here she was, folding herself onto the bench and trying not to look too uncomfortable among all the small, easily breakable things.

Sera glanced over at her, eyes sharp.

“So, you’ve been chatting me up. I heard that, yeah? And seen the looks.”

Tevi nearly swallowed her tongue.

Shit. Had she really been that obvious? Well. Okay, judging from the knowing glances everyone from Josie to Blackwall had been shooting her lately...probably.

Sera forged ahead.

“That’s all fun and such, out there walking around. But...maybe there’s more in your head?” She faltered for a moment. “Like you want to be more?”

Tevi opened her mouth to say...shit, Maker knows what, but then Sera gave a sharp-toothed grin that made her cheeks go hot.

“So, uh...yes. Because... _ phwoar _ , you have... _ height _ .”

Oh.  _ Oh. _ This wasn’t a gentle letdown, then?

Sera had said things before, sure, comments here and there that made her blush or grin like an idiot. But she’d never been sure if it was going anywhere in particular.

Flirting happened when she was a mercenary, sometimes. Women who wanted to see what it was like to bed a qunari. It never went anywhere beyond a night of fun, she’d learned that by now. Which was fine, sure, but...Sera was different.

She hoped Sera was different.

“I do have that,” she said, trying to keep her voice light. “Though I think part of that’s the horns. I, uh. Sera, are you saying what I think you’re saying?”

Sera’s grin only widened.

“What, that you’re fit? Sure, but you know that already, don’t you? Must do, looking like that.” The grin turned a touch predatory. “If you look this good all buckled up, well...must be even better underneath, right?”

Tevi tried not to look too flustered at that particular statement. A seven-foot warrior blushing and trembling over a few compliments was probably not the most appealing thing in the world.

“I mean...you want this too, yeah?” Sera’s smile flickered, ears dipping. She stared hard at Tevi, like she was searching for the truth in her eyes. “Not just me, is it?”

“No, not just you.” Tevi blurted. “Of course I want you--this. I thought...I mean, Maker, I was never very good at hiding it, was I?”

Well, that was embarrassing. But Sera’s smile was back, at least, even if she did look particularly smug now.

“No, you weren’t. But it’s cute, yeah? Nice to be wanted.” Sera shifted closer, and Tevi was suddenly very aware of the difference in their size. Not in a bad way, just...aware. “So, d’you wanna go play around, then?”

_ Maker, yes. _ Tevi swallowed down her first reaction and forced herself to think, actually think about this.

“What would it mean if we did? What would this be, I mean? Is this a relationship or just sex, or…?”

A slender finger pressed to her lips and she trailed off.

“Anyone ever tell you you talk too much, Buckles?” There was an unusually soft, fond look on Sera’s face. Something strange and vulnerable flickered through her eyes. “I...dunno what it means. But I like you, and I don’t do this with just anyone. Alright?”

Tevi nodded. Sera’s finger felt like a brand against her lips.

“We can figure it out later, yeah?” Sera said. “I’m tired of talking, though. Aren’t you? Always too much talking around here. Got better things to do, you and me.” She waggled her eyebrows. “In your bedroom?”

She trailed her hand down to Tevi’s shoulder. Tevi closed her eyes for a moment, gathered herself.

“Sera,” she said, and her voice came out more husky than authoritative. “Are you inviting yourself to the Inquisitor’s bedchamber?”

Sera’s eyes sparkled at the teasing.

“No.” She grinned. “I’m racing her there.”

With that, she shoved Tevi backwards and took off at a sprint towards the door.

-

Sera was much faster than Tevi, but Tevi had the advantage of about two feet in height and a reach to match. They ran nearly side by side the whole way, laughing and dodging shocked soldiers and nearly flattening Solas as he came into the main hall at just the wrong moment.

On the stairs Sera finally stumbled, and Tevi took the opportunity to grab her around the waist. Sera screamed and shoved at her face, breathless and grinning as she tried to wriggle from her grasp, but Tevi held fast.

“You arse! This is cheating!” Sera squealed as Tevi slung her over her shoulder and continued climbing the steps. She didn’t sound overly upset about it, though.

“You’re the one who got a head start,” Tevi said innocently.

She opened the bedroom door and locked it behind her as Sera tried and failed to take off her belt, then moved on to tugging out her shirttail. Her heart was racing. This was finally happening. Shit. Maker, she hadn’t touched a woman since...it’d been months before the Conclave, at least. What if she messed it up somehow, and with Sera of all people--

Nails scraped up the small of her back and Tevi jumped.

“You gonna put me down sometime soon?” Sera called from the vicinity of her back. “View is nice and all, but not much I can do here.”

Tevi fought back a grin. Gently as she could, she placed Sera down on the edge of the bed. Sera’s face was flushed and her hair stuck out in all directions and she grabbed Tevi by the shirt and dragged her closer.

“Bend down more,” she demanded. “Need to kiss you.”

Tevi wasn’t about to argue. She braced her knees on either side of Sera and leaned down and closed her eyes as Sera surged up to meet her. It was nothing gentle. Sera’s free hand wrapped around her horn and pulled her in closer. She kissed with her teeth and tugged at Tevi’s hair a bit and it was just...so perfectly Sera that her heart felt like it might burst.

Her knees wobbled and she fell forward onto the bed, pinning Sera to the mattress. Her lip caught on Sera’s teeth in the impact. Sera let out a purr that made Tevi’s stomach turn to soup.

“Like that,” she whispered between kisses.

Sera hooked a leg around Tevi’s and placed a hand on her shoulder and rolled them over, straddling Tevi’s hips. She grinned down at her.

“Like this, too.” She fumbled with the hem of her tunic. “Hang on. Bloody--”

She yanked it over her head and tossed it to the side. Tevi...stared. Just stared. Sera was so beautiful, her sharp bony angles and small breasts and fair skin mapped out in freckles. She wanted to do... _ something _ , wanted to kiss her until she couldn’t breathe, but her hands wouldn’t move for some reason.

Sera snorted with laughter, shaking her head.

“Buckles, you look like somebody snuffed out that candle in your head.” She pulled Tevi’s hands to her hips, leaned in closer. “You can touch, you know. They’re not just for looking.”

Tevi’s hands were big enough to circle Sera’s waist. That realization made her feel a little unhinged.

She sat up straighter and dipped her head to kiss Sera’s neck. She’d missed this, the taste of sweat on her tongue, the feel of muscles tensing under her lips. She nipped at the soft skin and was rewarded with a full-body shiver. Sera’s hands flew to her horns, gripping tightly.

“You’re so pretty,” Tevi breathed.

She bent to take a pale pink nipple in her mouth and Sera swore. Loudly. Shoved Tevi’s head harder against her chest.

Tevi sucked gently and lifted a hand to roll the other nipple between her fingertips. Not quite sure how hard Sera wanted her to go.

In the past, women usually wanted for her to take the lead. Tevi was a qunari, after all, she was big, and she supposed that they expected her to be rough and brutal. She wasn’t totally opposed to the idea in general. But Sera wasn’t just...she was  _ special _ . And she was small, and what if Tevi  _ hurt _ her? It wouldn’t be hard. Tevi felt more weapon than woman sometimes.

Her heart thumped unpleasantly.

Tevi’s panic eased when Sera gritted out “ _ harder _ ” and arched into her mouth. Tevi laved the stiff nipple with her tongue and bit down gently, let out a happy growl as Sera gripped her head even tighter.

“Help...these gotta...off,” Sera panted after a few minutes, squirming in Tevi’s lap. She tugged at the waistband of her leggings.

For a moment, Tevi considered just ripping them at the seam. But that wasn’t very polite, so she slid one hand to Sera’s back instead and urged her up on her knees so they could both fumble with the garment until it came off. Sera flung it over her shoulder and started unbuttoning Tevi’s shirt. Tevi barely noticed, too distracted by the thatch of dark blonde curls between Sera’s legs.

“D’you never wear smallclothes?” Her voice sounded more strangled than playful.

“Not usually. Too much fuss.” Sera made a frustrated sound about halfway down the shirt and yanked, hard. A few buttons flew off. Sera’s triumphant laugh snapped Tevi from her daze.

She’d tossed her ruined shirt aside and gotten her breeches mostly off before Sera lunged at her again, kissing her fiercely. She was straddling Tevi’s thigh, painting arousal across her skin, and Tevi panted into Sera’s mouth. She gripped Sera’s hips, maybe a little too hard, but no, Sera was rocking against her now, making little noises into her ear when they were breathing too hard to kiss anymore.

“Need more,” Sera ground out. She grabbed at Tevi’s wrist. “Want you. Inside me.”

“Yeah. Yeah, alright.” Tevi’s head spun. “Wait. I’m, uh. My hand’s pretty big, I...you sure you--?”

Sera let out a groan, her pink cheeks darkening.

“Yeah, stupid. I’ve seen your hands. C’mon.”

Shit. Alright. Shit.

Tevi slid a hand between Sera’s legs, fingers brushing her damp curls. She was  _ so  _ wet. Tevi had made this happen. The thought made her heart squeeze in her chest. Sera  _ liked _ her. At least enough to do this with her.

She circled a thumb lightly around Sera’s clit. Felt her tremble from the barely-there touch.

Sera hissed.

“Buckles…”

She paused, pulling away just enough to see the flushed desperation and mild annoyance on Sera’s face.

“Yeah, Sera?”

“Gonna kill you if you tease me,” Sera said, and Tevi laughed.

“You can’t kill me,” she murmured. She slipped a finger inside Sera and revelled in the shuddering gasp she let out. “Not yet, anyways.”

Sera was hot and tight around her finger, and Maker, the look on her face was absolute perfection. Her eyes were at half-mast--she kept letting them drift shut, then blinking rapidly as if wanting to keep her gaze focused on Tevi. She really flushed all over, Tevi mused, letting herself drink in the sight.

She thrust slowly, matched the rhythm of Sera’s rocking hips. Her other hand anchored on Sera’s waist.

“Gimme...another one,” Sera muttered. Her eyes were shut now, brow furrowed in concentration as she rode Tevi’s hand.

“You sure?”

“Not made of...friggin’...spun glass, Buckles,” she said. “You could be...rougher, if you want? Not gonna break if you are.”

_ Rougher _ . Tevi groaned.

She stopped thrusting for a moment to add another finger beside the first. Definitely a tighter fit this time, but the way Sera threw her head back and trembled was pure magic. Her arms wound around Tevi’s neck and held tight as Tevi thrust back in. The little moans and hitches of breath in Tevi’s ear spurred her on, her own hips canting up to meet Sera’s jerky movements.

It wasn’t long before Sera was pulsing around her fingers, letting out a low whine--and suddenly, leaning forward to bite Tevi’s shoulder,  _ hard _ . Tevi gasped.

“Shit, Sera--”

Sera just growled against her skin and ground harder into Tevi’s hand.

A long few moments later, Sera went limp like a ragdoll in her arms, gasping against Tevi’s shoulder. The bite stung. In a really, probably too pleasant sort of way.

“Sera? You okay?”

She went to pull her fingers out until Sera gripped her arm weakly, holding her in place.

“Gimme...just a second.” Her eyelashes fluttered against Tevi’s damp skin. “Shit. Buckles.”

Tevi stroked Sera’s back, caught between worry and amusement.

“Good shit or bad shit?”

Sera scoffed and gave her other shoulder a punch.

“Don’t be stupid,” she said.

Tevi’s heart swelled.

Sera released her arm after a moment and Tevi slowly pulled out, hesitating only a moment before she brought her fingers to her lips to suck the arousal from them. Sera watched with a slack look on her face.

“Fucking... _ hot _ , Buckles.” She blinked rapidly. “Shit. Should’ve done this ages ago.”

Tevi blushed and leaned in and kissed Sera’s cheek, the sweat-damp locks of hair at her temple, anywhere she could reach.

“Yeah, we should’ve.” Tevi grinned and pressed her lips to Sera’s ear. “You’re so beautiful, you know that?”

Sera buried her face in Tevi’s neck, but not quick enough to hide the flush on her cheeks.

“Shut up.” A nervous giggle. “Never been beautiful before. Fit, alright, maybe. Beautiful’s… different. Like a sunrise or a...a painting, or something. Not a person.”

“Well, sure. Not most people.” Tevi closed her eyes and stroked Sera’s back, feeling the fine muscles twitch under her fingertips. “You, though? Definitely. Way better than a painting.”

Sera made a sound somewhere between a purr and a groan and punched Tevi’s shoulder again before sitting up. She gave Tevi’s chest a shove.

“Right, lie back before you spout any more bullshit, Buckles,” she said. “Your turn.”

Tevi stared dumbly. She hadn’t thought about this part. If it’d been a long time since she touched a woman, it had been… much, much longer since she was touched by one.

“You don’t have to,” she said. Her voice wavered.

Sera paused in the middle of tugging Tevi’s smallclothes down.

“You want this?” She asked.

Tevi paused, then nodded. Much as she was nervous about it, it wasn’t like she’d never thought about this before.

“Good,” Sera said. She yanked the smallclothes off. “I want this too. Can get off on my own, you know. Can’t get you off on my own.”

“It’s just...been a while, that’s all.” Tevi felt her cheeks burn. She covered her face with her hands for a moment. “Since anyone...y’know.”

“What? Since anyone made you come?” Sera smirked. “Guess we’ve got some catch-up to do, yeah?”

Tevi gasped as Sera leaned back down, dragging her tongue along the muscle of her inner thigh. She sank her teeth into the soft skin there, sucking hard enough to leave a dark purple mark in her wake. Tevi twitched, bit her lip hard to muffle a groan. She wondered if her neck had the same sort of mark and laughed, breathless at the thought.

“I’m gonna be black and blue by morning if you keep this up,” she said.

“ _ Good _ .” Sera’s response was fierce. She glanced up, eyes falling on Tevi’s neck, and faltered. “Though…probably shouldn’t leave marks where anyone can see, right?”

“You can if you want,” Tevi said stupidly. “It’s good. Marks are...good.”

Sera was quiet for a moment. Tevi was starting to wonder if she should’ve just kept her mouth shut when Sera spoke again.

“They’ll all wonder where you got it. Lots more rumors. Know you hate dealing with those.”

“I don’t care. It doesn’t matter what they think,” Tevi said. She’d intended for the words to be light and soothing but they were coming out like a declaration. “This is what matters. You. Us.”

She might be getting ahead of herself. She was definitely getting ahead of herself.

But she was half in love with Sera to begin with and having her sprawled out between her legs with flushed cheeks and bedroom eyes was just too much to handle calmly.

Sera didn’t seem put off, though. Just the opposite, if anything. There was a new intensity in her eyes, a brightness that made Tevi’s heart hammer. She ducked her head and pressed a kiss to the bruise she’d just left.

“Buckles, I...” Her nails dug into Tevi’s hips. She took a sharp breath. “Don’t know what to do when you say things like that.”

Tevi grinned.

“Kiss me?”

Sera chuckled and dropped her head to rest on Tevi’s thigh, gazing up at her with soft blue eyes.

“Yeah. I can do that.”

-

Tevi drifted off to sleep sometime before dawn with Sera wrapped up in her arms. When she woke, she was alone.

Her heart sank.

She should have prepared for this. She would have, if Sera hadn’t distracted her so effectively. They always left in the morning, and it was fine. There’d been no promises made, no confessions, no commitments. It was fine.

She shoved herself out of bed and slipped on a robe from the corner of the bed, padded over to the vanity in the corner, shivering. In the morning light she could see the bruises on her neck. Marks from Sera’s sharp teeth. There were others further down that made Tevi blush to think about. They would fade soon, probably. Tevi was always a fast healer. She sort of wished they would linger, this time.

Last night, she’d really thought--well, it wasn’t always easy for her to tell, but she thought Sera wanted more from this than some casual fling. She’d see her around Skyhold again, surely, but what was the protocol here? Pretend nothing had happened? Was she allowed to mention it at all? Would it happen again, or was it just...this?

Shit, she was bad at this. Maybe it was for the best Sera had left early.

She heard a creaking sound from below and blinked, releasing the edge of the vanity. Her tight grip had nearly splintered the delicate wood.  _ Shit _ . Maybe Josie wouldn’t notice. She was so particular about the fancy furniture here.

Tevi draped a towel over the damaged part of the vanity and splashed water over her face and tried to finger-comb her hair back into some semblance of order. She couldn’t lie here and mope all day. She had to do Inquisitor stuff. Important stuff. Stuff that was really hard to focus on right now, after everything that had happened last night.

She glowered at herself in the mirror. No moping. No pouting. No thinking about--

“Buckles! You’re up! Finally!”

Tevi whirled around, heart leaping. Sera stood leaning in the doorway, ears perked up, a grin on her face. She was dressed in Tevi’s shirt from last night. It fit her narrow frame like a nightgown--probably a good thing, since half the buttons were missing. She held a bowl of something that didn’t look or smell particularly good (porridge, maybe?), but she was here. She was  _ here _ .

She was  _ beautiful _ .

“Tried to grab you some breakfast. Cooks said it wasn’t done yet, sorry. Snagged some anyways. Figured--”

Whatever else she had been going to say was lost when Tevi swept her into a hug.

She squeaked and slapped at Tevi’s shoulder without any real bite to it. Especially not when her hand settled softly on the back of Tevi’s neck.

“What’s that all about?” Sera laughed. Her eyes crinkled at the corners. “Miss me that much?”

“Yeah.” Tevi felt a little breathless.

Sera’s grin faltered for a moment, her eyes going wide. Then her lips quirked up again.

“You were snoring so loud, just figured you wouldn’t notice.”

Tevi kissed her smiling mouth and Sera melted into her with a purr. Her nails scraped the nape of Tevi’s neck.

Tevi broke away at the sound of something clattering to the floor. She blinked, dazed, and looked down. The bowl of probably-porridge was splattered across the stones.

Tevi offered a sheepish grin and lowered Sera back onto her feet.

“Shite.” Sera laughed and ran a hand through her mussed hair. “ _ You _ . You’re distracting. No breakfast now.”

“I’ve got more interesting things to do than breakfast.” Tevi could barely keep her smile in check. She was allowed to just  _ say _ these things now.

Sera’s eyebrow quirked.

“Oh yeah?”

“Yeah.” Tevi winked. “You taste better anyways.”

Sera snorted.

“Terrible line. Lucky you’re so pretty.” Her lips curled into a smirk. “C’mon. You can make it up to me. Now? Now’s good.”

And with that, she grabbed the front of Tevi’s robe and dragged her down for another kiss.

Somehow, even the taste of undercooked porridge on her tongue made Tevi want to come back for more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hardly ever write fic but this story was wrung from my socially isolated brain. Hope you enjoyed reading it!!


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